Touring the Bases With…Melanie Levy

Melanie Levy is the Senior Group Events Executive for the Sacramento River Cats Baseball Club, Sacramento, California.  They are an Affiliate of the Oakland Athletics. SEAMHEADS: What does your job consist of? MELANIE:  I am a Senior Group Events Executive for the Sacramento River Cats. My job in particular involves working closely with schools K-12 […]

NL East Serves Notice to Phillies

The Phillies open a series against the Atlanta Braves this Memorial Day only a half game up on them in leading the division. Not surprising is that the Nationals are in last place with the Marlins; what is, though, is that they are both only four games out of first place. Almost 50 games into […]

Brownsten Setting His Sights

Memorial Day will find Cory Brownsten waiting on the NCAA. After finishing the season 38-18, Brownsten and his University of Pittsburgh Panther teammates fell short of earning an automatic berth to the Regionals of College World Series. The Panthers will have to wait and see if their resume is enough to earn an at-large bid […]

The All-Time Yankees (a draft book chapter)

Who would be selected for a mythical All-Time Yankees dream team roster? Who would be the starters and who the backups? Who gets snubbed, not quite good enough to make the squad? And how have other authors, as well as fan surveys and the like, answered this fun question throughout the years?

Remembering Baseball’s Dead of World War II on Memorial Day

We don’t celebrate Memorial Day in Scotland. We have a day for military veterans in November called Remembrance Day, just like you have Veterans Day, but nothing at this time of year. I think we should. So, until our government listen to my advice and make it happen, I’m going to share yours. Obviously, when […]

Fun Facts about the 19 (no, 20) Perfect Games in MLB History

A while back I completed a project of chronicling most of major league baseball’s perfect games. What fun is that if you can’t make out a list of trivia about the games? So yes, the following list (updated to include Braden’s feat, and Halladay’s) is trivial—but then, much of life is trivia, and sometimes trivia […]

These Are a Few of My Fav-o-rite Teams

Don’t worry, there will be no singing during the writing or reading of this article; Julie Andrews I’m not. As a card-carrying member of Red Sox Nation you’d think my favorite teams are all Carmine Hose, but that’s far from being the case.  Of course, my favorite team of all-time is the 1977 Red Sox […]

Strasburg in Syracuse Ninth Start: Getting Lost

His ninth start is a Monday late in May. I leave early in order to make friends with Syracuse. ‘Making friends with the city’ means getting good and lost on my way to a bookstore, and then driving in circles on three different routes from the bookstore to the ballpark. I see De Witt and […]

Oakland Takes Three More Atlantic Leaguers, Building Recent Total to Five and Passing Phils

It seems a little like a runaway freight train the way Oakland has swooped into the Atlantic League for player talent, and all of a sudden the Athletics have moved past Philadelphia as the major league organization with the most players out of the 13-year-old league active in their farm system. Oakland has purchased the […]

Trade Mate Hurls No-Hitter on Day Lima Died; Second Hurler Missed Gem by One Out

In an amazingly ironic twist, Kris Honel hurled a no-hit game for Chico, CA on the same day Jose Lima passed away.  The two pitchers were traded for each other last season with Lima moving from Long Beach to Edmonton in the Golden League swap. Honel, a first-round draft choice of the Chicago White Sox […]

Mirabelli, Indians Plan To Be “Aggressive” In Draft

The First Year Player Draft for Major League Baseball is quickly approaching.  This year the first round of the draft will be carried live on TV on Monday night June 7th and then the rest of the draft will be completed on Tuesday June 8th and Wednesday June 9th. As the draft clock gets closer […]

Minor Happenings: Indians Coordinator Talks Pitching

“Minor Happenings” is a weekly column which covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that […]

Yeah, It’s that bad…

I have had almost 3 weeks to process the content of this post.  I hesitated writing it on this format as it doesn’t really pertain to baseball.  But being that Detroit is Baseball and Tigers baseball is what I love, I decided this may be the perfect format.

Is this it for Zaun?

In mid-April, the Milwaukee Brewers were in the midst of a series at Washington. Nationals rookie shortstop Ian Desmond had a chance to score as long as he could plow through Brewers catcher Gregg Zaun at the plate. The two collided, leaving Zaun with some pain and discomfort in his right shoulder. For a 16-year […]

I Now Root For Jim Tracy

Since the Expos left Montreal after the 2004 season, many friends have asked me whether I miss them or if I root for another team. To the first question, I don’t miss the Expos of their latter days, as everybody knew they were on life support and on their way out. The disconnect with the […]

Dousing the Flames

My, have the one-time accessories known as pitchers evolved. You see, when baseball began, pitchers served as a launching pad for batters’ rockets. Standing 50 feet from their counterpart, only a few moments snuck by before their rockets went up, up and away on contact. As recently as 1980, relievers milled around in the shadows. […]

Moved by Jose Lima’s Death, Joe Klein Looks Back at Going To the Dominican to Sign Him and on His Atlantic League Days

Jose Lima’s sudden death was felt throughout baseball, amplified by the fact he was pitching as recently as last summer, but the depth of the loss of the fun-loving 37-year-old may not have been felt much deeper than in the Atlantic League’s home office in Camden. “I knew Jose when he was 16, and I […]

Memories of “The Stadium”

No–it wasn’t Shea, the old Yankee one, or even Three Rivers. It was our wiffle ball venue as kids back in the 70’s–my next-door neighbor’s backyard serving as our nightly “home field” during those warm spring/summer days of yesteryear. Yes–we called it “The Stadium.” We’d meet there after dinner EVERY night (I’ll admit to eating […]

Their Reputation Preceeds Them

You know that going into San Diego, it’s going to be a tough place to score runs.  The park is designed for pitching and the Padres usually take advantage of that with some pretty solid pitchers.  Last night was a textbook example of that. Even though Adam Wainwright deserved so much better, striking out 12 […]

Touring the Bases With…Craig Breslow

Relief pitcher Craig Breslow has been referred to as “the smartest man in baseball” because of his degrees in molecular biophysics and biochemistry earned at Yale University, and his performance on the field has been equally impressive, boasting a 2.78 ERA in 172 career games.  Breslow was drafted out of Yale by the Milwaukee Brewers […]

Signs Of Cardinal Life

It wasn’t a perfect weekend for St. Louis.  Not that it was bad, mind you; anytime you win two of three it’s a pretty good set.  However, the signs from this weekend indicate that as nice as this series with the Angels was, better days are a-comin’. Heroes and Goats, quickly: Friday (9-5 win) Hero: […]

Baseball and Reality TV: A “Natural” Fit

The reality TV circuit has covered just about every genre of the entertainment industry imaginable. From singing and dance competitions, to former rock stars looking for love, to boxers looking to be contenders and so on, just about everything you can think of from an entertainment perspective has been covered. Everything that is except for […]

Atlantic And Golden Leagues Played Sizeable Roles In Jose Lima’s Life

The tributes have been pouring in regarding the tragic loss of life by Jose Lima, who was only 37. I was on my way to the Ballpark at Harbor Yard in Bridgeport, CT Sunday when I heard the news on the radio. It seemed like everyone I encountered at the York-Bridgeport Atlantic League game had […]

Ramey and Wallace Earn NE-10 Honors

The Webster Yankees have been in existence just three years, but the New York Collegiate Baseball League team has seen plenty of talent. Add University of Massachusetts-Lowell’s Dustin Ramey and Luke Wallace to the list of Yankee alums finding success after playing for Webster in the NYCBL.

Minor Happenings: Santana Continues To Destroy AAA

“Minor Happenings” is a weekly column which covers the important developments and news in the Indians farm system. While most of the information in this report is from my own research and through interviews I have conducted with organizational personnel, some information in this report is collected and summarized from the various news outlets that […]

Polish American Night at Comerica Park (40th Annual)

Detroit Tigers vs. Oakland Athletics – Friday, May 28, 2010 DETROIT — Experience the richness of Polish culture on Polish-American night at Comerica Park on Friday, May 28, starting at 5:30 PM.  The Tigers will host the Oakland Athletics at 7:05 PM. The pre-game celebration will include performances by local dance troupes.  The color and […]

Strasburg in Syracuse Start Three: Dwarfing, the Sequel

“I was looking at your hands. They move when you’re asleep.” Emanuelle Riva, in Hiroshima, Mon Amour The game today is at Frontier Field, in Rochester, N.Y. I’m at home, hovering over the computer, an ear on the play-by-play as I call up rows and rows of statistics onto the monitor. But I can see […]

When Cheney Ruled Washington

It was a cool September evening in 1962 when 4,098 citizens exercised their right to assemble, in anticipation of an appearance by the representatives of the nation’s capital. Not surprisingly, John Kennedy was the first to take his turn, though he turned out to be a minor figure in the night’s long drama. Later, a […]

Houston Suburb Only First Link as Atlantic League Develops a Western Division

Sugar Land, TX city officials called their agreement to place an Atlantic League team in the upscale Houston suburb “historic”, and they might as well have been speaking for the heretofore Eastern-based league itself because this market seems destined to be the first step toward establishing a Western Division for the 13-year-old league. Peter Kirk, […]

Atlantic League on Brink of Adding Texas Team; Can-Am Tries Exhibitions in Maine

It appears much more likely the Eastern-based Atlantic League will tilt more to the west after what the City of Sugar Land, TX called the approval of a “historic agreement” earlier this week with Peter Kirk’s Opening Day Partners to place a team in the Houston area community, probably starting in 2012. Kirk, who already […]

Touring the Bases With…Janell Bullock

Janell Bullock is the Assistant General Manager of the Kinston Indians located in Kinston, North Carolina. They have been an Affiliate of the Cleveland Indians since 1987. SEAMHEADS: How did you get your start in baseball? JANELL:  I was in college and majoring in accounting and as I was going into my 3rd year, I thought […]

Cuban Relaxation

Cuba and Puerto Rico are never as close as when Pudge and Livan Hernandez are Nationals battery mates.  Rockies’ manager Jim Tracy said watching the two seasoned pros, “It’s like they are playing catch in the park.”  They are two of the most senior players in the game and still two of the most fun […]

Bierbrodt Puts Fire-Fighting on Hold to Pitch; Pulsipher, Padilla Have Double Roles

It is easy tracking Atlantic League players when they have their contract picked up directly by a major league organization.  But what happens to everyone else who was in the league a year or two or three ago and is neither with an organization nor still in the league?  Sure, some give up playing and […]

Sweet or Oh So Sour

Black and white. Cut and dry. Or, in the case of aspiring baseball players from San Pedro de Macorís, red and blue. There is a wide disparity between those who reach the high levels of professional baseball and those who do not. That’s the setting we are exploring in Mark Kurlansky’s new book, “The Eastern […]

Instants Of Clueless Clarity

I had dinner last night with a couple of friends visiting from out of town, and told two of my favorite Hall of Fame library stories. They’re dandies, so I may as well tell the rest of the world. The stories have two things in common. Both involved telephone inquiries from people who were entirely […]

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